Seven properties have been added to the New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places, three of which are considered eligible for the National Register.
These honored locations include Little River Chapel in North Hampton built in 1838 for its blend of Greek Revival, Italianate, and Queen-Anne style architecture. Also newly added to the register is the Rye Congregational Church, built in 1961 with Colonial Revival features, including a two-stage bell tower with clock faces on three sides.
The Olive G. Pettis Memorial Library that has served the Goshen community as its public library for over a century also made the state register. Built in 1908, the library building is the only building in the town built in the Colonial Revival-style, and it has original features like an original Oregon pine window and the pine bookcases that held the first books donated to start the library by the descendants of its namesake, Olive G. Pettis.
Mary Hudson, the library manager of the Olive G. Pettis Memorial Library, submitted the building to the State Register and is excited for this outcome.
“It’s a wonderful recognition of the library and its history and what it means to this community, " Hudson said.
As a result of this listing, the library will have a plaque and get access to help in preserving and maintaining the building for years to come, according to Hudson.
The building has operated continuously as a library since it was built in 1908, and it has many ongoing book clubs, story times, and active summer reading programs as the library’s 118th birthday approaches.
The state register encourages the protection of buildings that are significant to state history, architecture, or cultural traditions. Some benefits to being on the register include qualifying for certain historic preservation grants, special consideration in local and state planning projects, and the option to purchase a state register plaque.
The other properties newly added to the state register are Cheever School in Dorchester, Woodbound Road Bridge 178/052 in Jaffrey, Isaac Stafford House in Plymouth, and Purling Beck Grange Hall in Washington.